Scholarly record

THE EVOLUTION OF THE LEGISLATION ON THE ARTISTIC LEGACY IN ITALY. PROPOSALS OF REFORM OF THE CODE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE AND LANDSCAPE

R. Garetto

Abstract

Italy has more World Heritage Sites than any other country in the World. This extraordinary legacy needs to be maintained and preserved. The awareness of the importance of this legacy in Italy dates back to the Renaissance, or even earlier. A brief overview of the development of the legal acts aimed at preserving the cultural heritage in Italy in the last centuries shows an advanced approach to the issue. While the pre-unitarian legislation attests a careful awareness and adopts better legal tools in specific areas of the Country, mainly Rome, Florence, and Naples, the post-unitarian regulation on the artistic and cultural legacy results careless and belated. The first organic legislation was adopted at the beginning of the XX Century, while in 1939, a precise regulation aimed at preserving the cultural heritage was finally adopted. The Italian Constitution, entered into force in 1948, at Art. 9 recognized as a fundamental value the preservation of the historical and artistic legacy. Just in 1999, However, a new systematic regulation was enacted through a consolidated law. A few years later, in 2004, after the reform of Title V of the Italian Constitution, the “Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape” was enacted. For 15 years, this complex regulation has not changed, and it needs immediate improvement. In March 2019, the former Italian Government approved a bill aimed at reforming the “Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape.” The interesting draft is now under consideration of the new Government.

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